333 - Early 19th-century French school, circle of Henri Riesener (1767–

Early 19th-century French school, circle of Henri Riesener (1767– 1828). Presumed portrait of Sophie COTTIN, née Marie Sophie RISTEAU (1770–1807) Oil on canvas H_70 cm W_58 cm Restorations Provenance: Family collection, passed down through the family Born Marie-Sophie Risteau in Paris on March 22, 1770, Sophie Cottin was a French novelist from a Protestant family in Bordeaux. Her father, Jacques-François Risteau, was a wealthy merchant and shipowner with ties to the East India Company. In 1789, she married Jean-Paul-Marie Cottin, a Parisian banker, and was widowed in 1793. She then devoted herself to writing and enjoyed great success with her novels, notably *Claire d’Albe* (1799), *Malvina* (1800), *Amélie Mansfield* (1802), *Mathilde* (1805), and *Élisabeth, or The Exiles of Siberia* (1806). Her work reflects the pre-Romantic sensibility, and her books were widely read in France and abroad. She died on August 25, 1807, at the age of 37. Expert: Arteon Consulting